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Understanding Tart/Sour Taste Preferences

 

When introducing new foods to our little ones, the faces they make at the discovery of a new taste often inspire iconic photos and videos. Watching our kids respond to new flavors and observing which tastes they prefer is fascinating, especially when their tastes seem, well, strange. Like the preference for tart/source tastes. (Search “baby trying a lemon” and thank us later.)

Why Kids Tolerate (or Prefer) Tart/Sour Tastes More Than Adults

As Kacie Barnes, MCN, RDN, LD explains, “Studies have shown that children often have a higher tolerance for/preference for certain more extreme flavors like saltiness and sourness than adults.” (Source) While we don’t know exactly why this happens, she continues, it could be because children’s palates are still developing. “Children have more taste buds than adults do,” Barnes says, “so they have a different sensory experience of foods than adults do when it comes to taste.” Everything is new for kiddos, so these intense experiences (like a tart/sour taste) can create an affinity for the foods that inspire such excitement.

When does the tart/sour taste preference occur?

Babies begin to taste things in utero, so we could say that affinity for flavors begins then, but we don’t exactly know. “Many parents report their new eaters (ages 6–18 months) have affinities for sour/tart foods like lemons, limes, etc,” Barnes shares, so this could be the sweet—or should we say, sour—spot. “New eaters are traditionally more receptive to all types of foods and flavors as they learn,” says Barnes, also noting that some kids will outgrow this preference in toddlerhood, as “pickiness usually starts to develop in that 18-month–2-year range.”

Does exposure to tart/sour flavors early on impact preferences later in life?

According to Barnes, it’s possible! “Recent studies have suggested that repeated exposure to different flavored foods (e.g. sour foods, sweet foods, etc.) can impact preferences for children.” (Source) “Some scientists have wondered if sour taste notes in baby formulas can also promote sour preferences later on in childhood, as well,” she continues. “Unfortunately, the studies that exist on this topic are relatively small so we can’t say that anything causes anything else, but they do suggest that maybe there is a correlation!”

Are sour/tart foods higher in any nutritional value?

When we think of certain sour/tart foods like berries and citrus fruits, Barnes says, “many of them are high in vitamin C, which has many important health benefits like immune system support and increased iron absorption.” For sour candies, not so much. Kids are likely drawn to these because they’re fun, bright, sweet, and sour.

How can we introduce tart flavors to kids who don’t favor them?

“Start with things that are both tart and sweet!” Barnes suggests. “Berries are usually a kid favorite, but if your child doesn’t like the tart blackberry itself, start by mashing it into some full-fat Greek yogurt so that they get the flavor and a little bit of the tartness without too much sensory input!” You can also squeeze lemon on top of favored foods (like pasta or chicken), so they get used to the taste.

Remember: we all have taste preferences, and if kids outgrow their liking of sour foods or never develop a liking to begin with, that’s totally okay! 

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